Isaiah Zagar has created mosaic paintings on abandoned buildings and other properties in Philadelphia since 1969. My home on South 2nd Street had a wall by him but the new owners took it down when I sold and moved to Mexico. There is now an indoor space next door, with mosaic throughout, where Ornella Ridone’s show was hung (previous post).

The Magic Garden on South Street began in 1991. It is an outdoor property with tunnels, arches and open gardens adorned with mosaic walls beyond imagination. Painted tiles, mirrors, bottles and bicycle wheels are some of the materials used. To quote from Isaiah’s book: “My whole life as an artist is a journal; the way I’m feeling, the way I’m feeling every day, the way I’m thinking, the things I’m thinking about. They all enter into my work life, into my drawing life, so it’s constantly changing…”

While visiting Philadelphia earlier this month I met an artist whose work is being shown at Isaiah Zagar’s Magic Garden on South Street. Her work is all hand embroidered on discarded clothing scraps using almost exclusively red thread. She is Italian but has lived in Oaxaca for many years.
Last year she visited Philadelphia to do sketches of her impressions of the city then went home and created these images. Obviously she was impressed/depressed by the number of homeless people on the streets, as was I. Each piece is tacked in front of a clear plexiglass sheet which is then tacked to the wall. Her work is powerful and absolutely stunning.